Takeaways from AP’s investigation on anti-science legislation in US statehouses
A. wave of anti-science bills Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It was rolled out this year in government agencies across America, with the encouragement of individuals with special interests who have close ties to .
One Associated Press investigation found more than 420 bills in most states attacking longstanding public health protections like vaccines, milk safety and fluoride. More than two dozen have already been enacted or passed.
they are a part an organized, politically savvy effort This normalizes ideas fueled by the anti-vaccination movement that Kennedy has spearheaded for years. His Make America Healthy Again The agenda promotes goals such as: Making food more natural or reduce chemicals. Meanwhile, vaccination rates keep fallingallowing infectious diseases measles And whooping cough to make a comeback as Kennedy sought to broadly reform federal policies on public health issues. fluoride And vaccinations.
Kennedy’s allies argue that their agenda is anti-science or driven by conspiracy theories, but many experts disagree.
Here are some key takeaways from the AP’s investigation:
Hundreds of anti-science bills introduced
The AP focused on three public health policies—vaccines, water fluoridation, and milk safety—that have clear medical evidence behind them but are targets of the MAHA movement.
The AP researched 2025 legislation in all 50 states, analyzing U.S.-collected bills. National Conference of State Legislatures And invoice tracking software Plural on whether they undermine science-based protections for human health.
Anti-vaccine bills (at least 350) were by far the most common. Most have not become law, but at least two dozen anti-vaccine bills have been passed in 11 states this year.
The AP found more than 70 bills that would roll back access to fluoride or make it easier to sell or consume raw dairy products. Many fluoride bills would outright ban its addition to water systems.
Most of the bills were supported by at least one of four national groups affiliated with Kennedy: MAHA Action, Stand for Health Freedom, National Vaccine Information Center and the Weston A. Price Foundation. The groups also opposed dozens of science-focused bills.
These groups are part of a well-organized effort with a clear strategy to change policies
Groups the AP tracks are sending out warnings, organizing phone campaigns, flooding lawmakers’ inboxes and social media, holding Zoom calls with activists across the country and sending their members to testify at statehouses.
Northe Saunders, president of American Vaccine Families, said their work reflects the growing influence of the small anti-vaccination movement. Advocates, he said, know how to raise money for candidates, cultivate anti-vaccine champions and use legislative maneuvers to delay some bills and help others clear hurdles.
“Unlike a few parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids, these are a really sophisticated political operation,” Saunders said.
The groups defended their advocacy, and some leaders said they were pleased with their success. The NVIC leader said the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been harsh and a wake-up call in state legislatures “where lawmakers understand the danger vaccine mandates pose to freedoms.”
A MAHA leader participating in the Zoom calls said their position was “based on reliable scientific literature and the public’s right to make informed choices,” while the current leader of MAHA Action said the purpose of the calls was to educate people. He objected to the term anti-science, saying: “It’s just an inflammatory statement intended to make millions of people think something bad is going on.”
The president of Weston Price dismissed such beliefs as a conspiracy, telling the AP that the benefits of raw milk are great and the risks are minimal.
The Health Freedom Stand did not respond to emails. A spokesman for Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services did not comment to the AP for this story.
Many people in groups pushing anti-science bills have built lucrative careers thanks to their anti-science stances
Vigorous anti-vaccine advocates and people who sell potentially harmful products like raw milk are profiting from the push to enact anti-science policies into law across the US
Whether it’s by advancing their careers or selling more products, these leaders are finding ways to capitalize.
One way activists are supporting these ideas is through state legislation. Supporters have argued that making money or increasing sales for businesses like dairy farmers is one reason to pass some bills that would strip consumer protections, the AP found. In at least one case, this rationale was expressed in the bill text.
Rising anti-science sentiment has a human cost, and it’s already paying it
For example, vaccination rates continue to decline, making it easier for infectious diseases to spread.
Ashlee and Erik Dahlberg of Lowell, Indiana, lost their 8-year-old son, Liam, to a vaccine-preventable disease in April.
“I thought vaccinating would protect our children,” Erik Dahlberg said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work because other children, other adults, had to be vaccinated for it to work.”
Liam was particularly vulnerable as he has severe asthma and allergies. He had been given the Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, vaccine, but that vaccine still caused his brain to swell and killed him less than two days after he complained of a headache. Hib is transmitted through respiratory droplets, often spread by coughs and sneezes. Ashlee Dahlberg said doctors told her that Liam’s case likely came from someone who wasn’t vaccinated.
The Dahlbergs, along with their two other children, worry about living in one of the many communities in the U.S. where vaccination rates are low. State statistics show that one in five kindergarteners in their district do not meet vaccination requirements.
“There is no pain worse than the pain of losing a child,” Ashlee Dahlberg said. “I cannot and will not live with the loss of another.”
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The Associated Press receives support from the Health and Science Department, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.
